Customer Reviews

Character Costume Figure Drawing: Step-by-Step Drawing Methods for Theatre Costume Designers

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I bought this book sight unseen and boy, did it come up trumps!

I come from a fashion background, and the style of fashion illustration I learned is great for designing and selling to retailers - it's very gestural, and the structure of the garment is the most important thing. The 'model' that it's on is only suggested in a few strokes; you want whoever is looking at the illustration to imagine themselves, or their clients, in that outfit. And I was used to poses that showed the garment off to best effect, but really had the minimum of character to them. All well and good - but HOPELESS for costuming, where suddenly I'm trying to 'sell' my designs to the director/producer (and sometimes the actor). I'm trying to convince them that the image I have of the character in these clothes is going to tell the story that they want to tell. So i needed to add character and personality to my sketches.

If you have the same problem; if you're looking for the same thing; then this book will be a godsend. The author covers exactly how to create character in the pose, then how to give personality to the face. She gives ideas to show youth, children and teenagers, middle age, old age. She gives basic details of muscles and anatomy to make your figures look more alive, and discusses lean and ample frames (something else that isn't an issue in fashion illustration). She gives easy concise drawable cues for emotions, and details of facial features for full, 3/4 and profile views. She even gives basic period figures for Egyptian, Greek/Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan, 18th Cent, Regency, Victorian/Edwardian, 1940's/50's, and contemporary styles. This section is the essentials of the Georgia Baker book boiled down to the kernal of good stuff and is of amazing value if you need to start sketching today - NOW - and can't wait a 6 months till you've got the whole thing nutted out yourself. There's good stuff on hands and feet and shoes. There's great examples of how stiff fabrics and soft fabrics hang differently. There are at least half a dozen really good examples of non-human characters (wolf, crocodile, ostrich etc)that are perfect for learning from.

This is a really large book. It's chock full of valuable examples of the author's work, in all kinds of periods and for all kinds of characters (the play and character is always specified, so there's a point of reference you can use to see how the author has nailed the PERSONALITY of the character in her sketches.) About 3/4 of the costume illustrations are in colour - the book feels lush and inviting to read through.

Some down sides; there is a double page on hats for male and female - I would have liked more, although I guess some other examples do offer hatted characters. Sometimes really valuable points are hidden in small notes amongst illustrations. The font is quite a small point, and can be slightly hard to read in poor light (like in many costumer's workrooms backstage!) Nowhere that I have found (that doesn't mean it's not there) does it tell you to work LARGE and then reduce down later by photocopying to render. If you start off drawing at the kind of scale used in the book then you're going to be disappointed when it all looks cramped and the details aren't clear. It also doesn't seem to mention (again it could be my oversight) that it's easiest when starting to use a thin paper like Zeta pad, so you can retrace your figures and improve/add what's missing without erasing all over the place. I would have liked something on drawing SPFX makeup and prosthetics - some aliens or monsters. I would have liked a LOT more on sucessfully showing hairstyles (period and contemporary), something I personally struggle with.

However, this is absolutely and definitivly the best book I've found (and I think I've tried them all now) on costume drawing for theatre (or film, for that matter).

If you are in the industry and want to improve your sketches, buy it now, you will NOT be disappointed. If you WANT to be in the industry, buy it yesterday and practise everyday. Sometimes you get the job you want just because your drawings look better than the next person's! This is the book I was looking for all this time, and now I found it - yay!

I am not sure what I had expected for a teaching format but my initial reaction to the book was that it was too cartoony for the structure I was looking for in the human body and expression.
As an artist's model for the last 24 years and as a costume designer for the last 21 who's drawing skills have not kept pace, I was looking for a more direct and perhaps, academic approach.
What I have discovered in reading and studying the text is that the author is a very gifted costume designer and teacher.This is not a book for a quick-fix. The book requires time and attention in each section if you are a beginner.
While the book did not address the design style I was hoping for,it more than met the criteria for a strong teaching text.

I bought this book because I had a project to do on costume rendering, and I know very little about it. Now, thanks to Tan Huaixiang, I know so much.

He makes drawing the figure bearable, shows how the body should look under the clothes, and provides many, many detailed examples. It shows how to beautifully draw different textures and the different methods of painting the rendering.

The chapter about the face could show better how to draw the eyes, nose, and mouth. Other than this, I believe everything is well written and explained.

This book is definetly worth the money!

This book is very detailed in showing how to draw the human figure and facial features... it has greatly improved my ability to draw for costume and fashion. I'd recommend this book to anyone who needs a little help with drawing a human form with garments and attitude. It made a HUGE difference for me.

Not only are there body types, movement and mediums. It covers fabrics and works in a way my students can understand as well as use. The artwork is lush! A must for any design teacher.

This book is very interesting. It has taken a very difficult concept (figure drawing) and broken it down into easy to understand step by step directions. The author's costume sketches were very helpful as well.

I had to do a full costume presentation with renderings for 6 characters for my class and I was so lost! I am not an artist at all, so I got this book and it helped me so much. It explained everything in detail and my renderings came out great! I would definitely recommend this book for beginners and experienced alike!